In Brief

The Nets are closing in on a deal to bring Carmelo Anthony to New Jersey.

Talks on a three-team trade with the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons are “advancing,” a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The trade would reunite Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton in New Jersey along with Anthony, the person said.

Although there has been progress, the person said there are potential roadblocks.

The deal would fall apart if Anthony refused to sign a three-year, $65 million contract extension with the Nets. Billups also has said he would be reluctant to leave Denver.

Also: Scrappy, steady center Anderson Varejao is done for the season with a torn ankle tendon that will require surgery, another major blow to the bottoming-out Cleveland Cavaliers, who are not close to recovering after star LeBron James left as a free agent last summer.

“It’s a big blow,” first-year coach Byron Scott said in Phoenix before the Cavaliers played the Suns. “Arguably, he’s been our best player.”

Varejao got hurt while running in practice on Thursday as the Cavs (8-29) prepared for a five-game road trip.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes will have surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage in his right knee, an injury expected to sideline the backup swingman for several weeks.

Barnes was hurt Friday in a victory over New Orleans when he came down awkwardly on his leg while battling Jarrett Jack for a rebound. An MRI on Saturday revealed a torn lateral meniscus.

Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace is eyeing a Wednesday return from a left ankle injury. Wallace, Charlotte’s second-leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, has missed all but two games since Dec. 15 with a sprain and bone bruise.

MISCELLANEOUS

Flames’ Kostopoulos
suspended by NHL

Calgary Flames forward Tom Kostopoulos was suspended six games by the NHL for his head shot on Detroit Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart.

Stuart was injured during the third period of Detroit’s 5-4 shootout victory at Calgary on Friday night. He’s expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks.

“Kostopoulos delivered a blow to the head of an unsuspecting and vulnerable player,” NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said in a statement. “As well, he targeted the head of his opponent and, while the hit was not from the blindside, the head was the principle point of contact.”

Campbell also said the fact that Stuart was not in possession of the puck at the time was a factor in his decision.

Also: New York Rangers forward Alex Frolov’s first season with the team is over because of a significant injury to his right knee. The Rangers said the 28-year-old left winger has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a second-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament and a medial meniscus tear in his right knee that will require season-ending surgery.

Lindsey Vonn made a couple of mistakes, and Swiss teen Lara Gut capitalized to edge the American standout in a women’s World Cup super-G race in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria.

The 19-year-old Swiss had a near-flawless run to finish in
1 minute, 12.82 seconds and beat Vonn by 0.53 seconds.

Third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland won the Chennai Open, beating Xavier Malisse of Belgium 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in the final of the Australian Open tuneup in Chennai, India.